Medieval Needle's Stitchings

Melanie Simmonds is a needle artist who specializes in cross stitch, knitting and beadwork. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

An independent review of Agel products

So I don't often have much to say around here, and really this is just because when I was looking for somebody to tell me if Agel (pronounced "agile") products worked or not I couldn't find anything that wasn't sponsored by the company or was talking about the dangers of multi-level marketing.

So - MLM aside (I am not getting involved in that!!) - I have been taking the following products regularly for almost two weeks, and am prepared to at least give an intermediate statement on how I feel about them.

FLX - this is supposed to contain 4 supplements to help your joints and bones - it says it is a Citrus Fruit Flavor. It tastes like ass onto which a citrus fruit has perhaps fallen and rotted. NASTY. It is also kind of chalky. Now, if you haven't seen Agel stuff the whole pretense is that they are vitamins in a gel (kind of like Gu for runners) and therefore are absorbed better and faster. Have I noticed any difference? I don't think so. I still hurt in all the same places I usually hurt after activity, so whatever. Not worth it to me to continue this one as it is (1) disgusting and (2) very expensive. $85 for a month supply box. I can take OTC glucosamine pills and save a whole lot of money.

GRN - this is supposed to be a cleanse type of product, gently keeping your system "moving" - it says it is a Lemongrass Mint Flavor - they got the grass part right. This tastes like somebody went into the yard and yanked up some grass (dirt and all) and put it in a blender with a squirt of lemon. It's not as bad as FLX, but it's not very good. It is also very runny compared to the other products. I am not really into this one - I was eating yogurt with chia seeds pretty much every day and had no problem with regularity. Again, expensive and I will not be ordering it again. If I need a little something extra I'll eat more applesauce....

PRO - this is a shake powder, a lot like a protein shake. On their diet plan you use it as one or two meal supplements. It makes a good shake in the blender - great with a little ice, 8 oz of milk and a half a banana or some blueberries. However as a portable mean option this isn't so good. It doesn't stir into milk on its own, and even in a shaker bottle it still comes out gritty and strange. I don't have a blender at work, so it just really isn't working out for me. The taste is fine, when blended in a blender. (It is 3 WW points when blended with 8 oz nonfat milk by the way)

FIT - This one still tastes gross ("Lemon Meringue Flavor") but is better than the others so far. If you take it in one shot and drink water it goes down better. It is supposed to curb your appetite, and let me tell you IT WORKS. I love this one if only for the fact that taken 30 minutes before lunch I will eat a healthy lunch and not be starving at 3:00 p.m. This is one I will probably continue to use if I see decent results at the end of the month. I usually take one a day, but some days I take 2. (I'm also doing WeightWatchers and so some days I feel like I'm going to starve to death anyway....)

OHM - I just started with this one Monday, and I don't take it every day. The one I took did exactly what I expected. It has a Vitamin B complex in it that gives you energy without added caffeine. All I know is that it perked me up more than an afternoon Diet Coke does and it didn't make me crash later. My only complaint is that since I took it in the late afternoon (energy for exercise class) I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, so next time I'll take it earlier in the day. It is "Starfruit Flavor" and actually is the best tasting of all of the products here.

I hope this helps somebody else when they are looking around the Internet to find somebody who will give an unbiased opinion of these products. I wish I'd seen something like this before I ordered. It seems everybody who is involved with Agel has drunk the cool-aid and thinks this stuff is the best ever. I think some of that is because they have to convince themselves that the MLM is going to work and that all the boxes of stuff they have to order personally every month to get their commission (from what I've seen between $200 and $300 worth) is actually doing them some good. And maybe it does. Maybe for somebody with more bone and joint pain the FLX does more. Maybe for someone with different issues the GRN would help more. Dunno. Not saying they don't work, just saying they didn't do much for ME. And maybe the psychosomatic effect of all that MLM team training stuff they want to show you will psych you into feeling it does more than is an actual result of the product. Either way, if you feel better why not?